The Art of Timing
by hollysarena
Summary: None of them could really remember what they'd been like - who they had really been - before the end of their time at Hogwarts. Somebody once said that comedy was tragedy plus time. Lily often thought that if this was true, the universe must be laughing down on all of them.
1. Prologue

**Please, for the love of Merlin, make me finish it this time.**

 **Reviews and feedback will likely induce warm feelings, whether it be praise or criticism.**

* * *

Somebody once said that comedy was tragedy plus time. Lily often thought that if this was true, the universe must be laughing down on all of them.

In growing up, there is a moment. A moment where years pass as quickly as days, days pass as hours, and the daunting realization comes that time is no longer infinite. In the past few weeks, they had been holding their breaths, waiting.

None of them could really remember what they'd been like - who they had really been - before the end of their time at Hogwarts. Lily could not remember what a good night's sleep felt like. Marlene could not remember that last time she enjoyed watching a game of Quidditch. Ambria could not remember the last time she had taken a swig of Firewhiskey, just for the fun of it.

They were different. They could have been considered older, wiser - perhaps even stronger; but that wasn't all that had changed. There was a significant lack of careless freedom in the air, desperation quickly taking its hold. At sixteen, they fancied themselves invincible.

Now, everything was measured by time.

When she saw him disappearing around the corner, she realized what little fraction of time she had left. This was not the first time she had watched him go, and she was sure it would not be the last. But, in that moment, she made a choice.

She rounded the corner after him, her legs moving at such as clumsy (yet determined) speed, that she nearly collided into his back. The boy turned to her, puzzled.

Staring up at him, she realized that in this moment, whatever she said would be set in stone. With a lack of time came a lack of wavering decisions. It was a turning point in history - in her own and in his.

Little did she know it, but it was a turning point in the history of the wizarding world itself.

His name left her lips, breathy but clear. As it did, she remembered that she was not the only one whose actions had the power to shift destinies.

And, for two people who were so terrible at timing, what could happen next terrified them both.


	2. I: Lily

**The first chapter of plenty.**

 **Your thoughts are worth fifty thousand galleons, remember! (Please forgive me for I am lacking any form of beta reader)**

* * *

Steam billowed from the wine coloured train, filling Platform 9 and 3/4 with a familiar smell. Students milled excitedly across the cobbled platform, gripping trunks and book bags as they prepared themselves for the long summer ahead. In the late weeks of June 1976, any forthcoming danger was completely unbeknownst to the children of Hogwarts.

Lily Evans stood away from the crowd, leaning against a brick wall. In front of her, she watched as two of her closest friends exchanged warm goodbyes.

"Promise me you'll write!" a small and slender girl with cerulean hair demanded, wrapping her arms around her friend. Ambria Stretton was a sight to behold. At five foot three, her size seemed incomparable to her vibrant personality.

The girl beneath her affectionate embrace let out a groan. "Amby, we'll be seeing you in two weeks. What could possibly happen between now and then?"

"Plenty, Marlene," huffed Ambria, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. "The world is constantly changing."

Marlene McKinnon rolled her eyes for not the first time that morning. Still, despite the disparaging look she shot Lily, she turned back to her smaller friend with a smile. "If anything happens, you'll be the first to know."

"I should think so."

A stranger looking upon the three girls would not have picked them as likely friends. Lily, with her dark red hair and fair skin, was studious and fancied herself quite logical. Marlene, on the other hand, was tall and blonde, and enjoyed living in the moment very much. And finally, the most quirky of the three with her bright blue hair, was Ambria.

The latter looked to Lily with a hopeful smile. "You will come to Brighton, won't you?"

"Of course," the sixteen year old redhead replied. With her sister occupied with her latest boyfriend and her parents taking an extended vacation in the south of France, Lily was rather looking forward to spending some time with her friends. "I'll be there before you know it."

Ambria's face split into a bright smile. "Well, I better be off." She gestured to an older couple, both striking with their willowy height and blonde hair. Of all the things Ambria inherited from her parents, their height was not one of them.

Lily smiled at her friend before giving her a small hug. "See you soon."

And with pixie like spirit, the small Gryffindor waltzed away. Lily watched her for a moment as she left, before turning towards Marlene. Silently, the pair of them began towards the platform exit.

As Lily walked, she paid particular attention to her feet. Not a habit she often indulged in, but in the art of avoiding something - or rather, somebody. By keeping her gaze towards the ground, she would not risk meeting the eye of a dark-haired wizard who, she would imagine, would be quite intent on bidding her (a second attempt at a) farewell.

Two months ago, Lily did not seem to have many problems at all. As a fifth year, she was excelling in her most of her classes - bar Transfiguration, which she had never quite gotten the hang of - and at the time she was passionately preparing herself for her first set of O.W.L exams. Which she surpassed, of course. Two months ago, Lily Evans found herself to be quite content, and certainly not in need of avoiding anybody.

However, as she would soon come to find, things change and, quite often, so do people.

"Chin up, Ginge," Marlene teased in good spirits. "You look like you're about to face a jury, not spend the next two months in glorious, sunny freedom."

Lily looked up at her friend and managed to compose her face into a smile. Well, almost a smile. It was hard for her friends to understand what had happened as, frankly, they did not consider it a loss at all. But Lily did.

Her blonde companion looped her own arm through Lily's. "I, for one, am quite thrilled at the thought of summer. Living in that castle was starting to get us all a bit a glum." She looked sideways to gauge Lily's reaction. "Aren't you at least a little bit excited?"

"I am," Lily replied, her voice sounding much more convincing than the witch felt.

Marlene gave a firm nod, her chin-length blonde curls bouncing. "Good. From now on, I forbid you to be anything less than one hundred percent cheerful. Agreed?"

Lily doubted her own abilities in keeping her end of this agreement, but she nodded nonetheless. With what Lily supposed was a comforting squeeze of her hand, Marlene stepped through the illusion of the brick wall with her friend following not far behind.

* * *

(June 22nd 1976)

Every year, summer smelled differently. The summer of 1976, however, smelled strongly of dry grass, Coca-Cola, and violet incense. Lily lay sprawled back on Marlene's dark blue bedsheets as the thumping sound of Mathilda Gorgon filled the room.

At eleven twenty-two in the morning on the third day of their holiday break, the girls found themselves with not much to do. Marlene sat in the crook of her bedroom window, pouring over the Quidditch section of the Daily Prophet, idly chewing on a Liquorice Wand. It wasn't the boring kind of nothing-to-do, Lily supposed. It was sort of nice. But still, it was a far cry from the exciting summer Marlene had suggested previously.

"What do you think of the Middlemore Mandrakes?" Marlene poised, not taking her blue eyes from the paper. "I hardly think they stand a chance in the League this year."

Lily, not as enraptured at the thought of Quidditch as her companion, made a non-committal noise. "Is that the one with the Seeker who looks like he's at least eighty?"

"Yes, which clearly isn't helping their chances."

She stared up at Marlene's bedroom ceiling. It was nice to be away from Hogwarts for a while. Marlene's house was certainly much better than her own - just the thought of being in that house alone with Petunia made her skin prickle gently - but Lily just could not shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach.

Being idle was clearly not doing her well.

As the off-white mouldings of the ceiling began to blur, so did her thoughts.

* * *

(Earlier That Week)

"Have you seen Puddington anywhere?" a frazzled Ambria questioned as she frantically ducked to look under the couch. The Gryffindor common room was all but empty, besides Lily and her dormmates. Their trunks were stacked neatly by the portrait hole, patiently waiting to be taken away to the train. They could have left by now, if it hadn't been for Ambria's missing cat.

Marlene tapped her foot rather restlessly. "Have you checked the fireplace? He does have a habit of sleeping in the ashes."

Upon her suggestion, Ambria pushed herself towards said mantle and began to make small, beckoning noises. Puddington, the cat in question, would not respond as he was known to do when he was feeling particularly fickle. He was also known to pick precisely the most inconvenient times to make a disappearance.

Lily looked anxiously at her watch. Fifteen minutes until the train left Hogsmeade station. It wouldn't wait for them, they all knew this, and the carriage ride into the village took at least seven minutes itself. If they didn't leave soon…

"Maybe you could just leave him here for the summer. I'm sure the house elves would do a fine job of keeping him fed," said Marlene.

Ambria withdrew from the fireplace with an appalled expression. Though, it wasn't nearly as effective with pieces of ash clinging to her bright hair. "Marlene. He can't stay here for two whole months! He'd get miserable without me."

On the contrary, Lily thought he might have enjoyed the peace and quiet.

She allowed her gaze across the almost empty common, trying hard not to fixate on the grandfather clock against the wall. However, she could not help herself, and it was with that that she spotted a familiarly bushy tail swinging alongside the pendulum.

"He's in the clock," Lily said, as she began to gather her book bag. "Quickly, grab him and we might make the next lot of carriages."

With a relieved sound, Ambria moved to wrestle - with quite some effort - her long haired tabby from within the grandfather clock. After a few moments of growling (from Puddington) and affectionate, yet ineffective cooing (from his respective owner), the cat was in his carry cage and the girls were stepping out of the portrait hole into the corridor.

Their exit was almost successful, if it hadn't of been for a rather sullen looking figure waiting on the other side.

Severus Snape was certainly the last person Lily wanted to see as she made an attempt to leave for the holidays. She started upon seeing him. He was already clad in his muggle clothes - slightly too big for his slender shape and a sort of mottled shade of grey-green - and his hands writhed together nervously. Upon spotting Lily, his face contorted into a look akin to remorse.

"Lily -" he began, his voice quiet, but he was briskly cut off by a sharp yowl from Puddington's cage. His dark eyes narrowed upon the noise, and Lily took this opportunity to start down the corridor. Her companions exchanged an awkward look, but followed nevertheless.

Snape did too. "Lily, please wait." His voice was weary but hopeful.

"I have nothing to say to you, Severus." Clipped and short, Lily's voice trailed behind her as she refused to look back. Her determined stride faltered as she reached the staircase. It had decided, as the staircases often did, that it would change directions and left her clenching her fists by her side.

Still, resilient (and some would say stubborn) as always, Lily refused to look at the Slytherin. She had no desire to whatsoever, despite his pleas.

"If you would just listen, maybe I could explain myself…" His voice veered off at her evident ignorance. Lily heard him let out a sigh, a sound she was very much accustomed to. Marlene, however, filled the silence.

The blonde pressed her lips together. "Now probably isn't a good time, Snape."

"I wasn't talking to you, McKinnon," the boy replied, venom leeching through his words. His face significantly softened as he looked back towards Lily. "I am sorry. I didn't mean - "

If there was one thing that Lily did not have time for, it was half-hearted excuses. What Snape had said, the word he had used, was something she had never once considered coming from his mouth. In hindsight, it perhaps should not have been such a surprise - no, a downright shock - that someone who affiliated themselves with the likes of his 'friends' would utter such profanity, yet it hurt nonetheless.

She clenched her fists tighter, but kept her gaze away from him. "I have nothing to say to you," she repeated, cutting him off. Her statement was less sharp this time, tired somehow. "Please just… leave me alone."

"I want to apologise. And I - " He cut himself off as he looked between Ambria and Marlene. "If you'd just talk to me alone for a moment, then - "

"What part of 'I have nothing to say to you', don't you quite understand?"

Snape frowned at her. "It was a mistake. I didn't mean to call you it, I swear."

"But you did." The redhead rounded on him now, causing her companions to step back slightly from the pair. "You did call me the absolute worst thing anyone could ever call me, and to think that you think a mere 'I'm sorry' will fix that speaks volumes of your absolute incomprehension of what you have done!"

Somewhat taken aback by her outburst, Snape's face dropped into a look of contempt. "I was angry. Stupid Potter and his army of idiots - "

"Stupid Potter does not control your actions, the last time I checked, Severus," Lily replied vehemently. "This isn't about him. This is about you."

There was a long moment of cool silence. Snape simply stared at Lily and for a moment - a fraction of a moment - his forlorn look and hand-me-down clothes almost caused Lily's face to soften. But it did not, as she caught herself and tensed her jaw.

"Please," he said quietly. "You can't be angry with me. I don't want to spend my summer with you angry just down the road."

Lily took in a breath. "I'm not going home this summer," she said bluntly.

Snape's expression darkened with a mixture of disappointment and betrayal. "You're not?"

"No."

"Then where are you going?"

"That," the Gryffindor said tightly as she turned towards the now returned staircase, "is not your concern."

And with that, she began to descend the staircase, teeth gritted and determined not to look back.

* * *

(June 22nd 1976)

It wasn't the sound of Marlene's voice that snapped her from her reverie, but instead the sound of flapping wings. Pippin, an aging barn owl, flew - or rather, fell - through the open window and into the room. With a disgruntled squawk, the bird righted himself before tottering towards her, claw outstretched. Attached was a small roll of parchment.

"Sirius must have written back," Marlene mused, looking up from her newspaper. She took the parchment from her owl and gave him a small affectionate scratch in return. This seemed to be enough because it was only a moment later that he clumsily resumed flight and left.

Despite Lily's own reluctance to befriend the fifth - soon to be sixth - year boys of her house, Marlene and Sirius were very close. Unusual, Lily had always thought, considering it was a rare occurrence to see Black detached from James Potter's hip.

Marlene grinned as she read. "Merlin, sometimes I honestly don't believe the antics they get up to. Listen to this - " Lily did not particularly want to hear the various trouble that the Marauders had gotten themselves into, but she sat politely quiet. It was no secret that she often felt animosity towards them - well, two of them, at least - but her friends had grown tired of her ranting some time ago.

"A shed! They bloody blew up a shed! I don't know how they get away with this sort of thing."

Neither did Lily. In fact, it was the thing that infuriated her the most. Rules were not always necessarily there to be followed, but a person should at least hold at least a sliver of respect for them. The Marauders, it seemed, did not. And it did not affect them either way.

Like, water from a duck's back, life and its consequences seemed to slide over the boys without a care.

Marlene picked bits and pieces from her letter, but did not venture too far into the details. For this, Lily found herself grateful. There was something about the boys that would only make her mood worse.

The tales of Sirius' summer so far seemed to cease fairly quickly, the blonde tucking her letter away with mirth in her eyes. Not very long after - merely moments - she pushed herself rather abruptly from her seat.

Lily blinked at her. "What's gotten into you?"

"C'mon," Marlene gestured to her friend. "It's boring and stuffy and I'm quite jealous of all the fun those silly boys are having. Let's get out of here."

She eyed her tall friend dubiously. "Are you going to get me in trouble?" she teased.

Marlene grinned. "Ginge, I'd positively have a heart attack if you let me get you into trouble."

"Fair enough. I suppose it would be awfully out of character."

"Swot."

* * *

(June 28th 1976)

Bloody hell, it was hot.

Even well into the evening as Lily gathered with the McKinnon family for dinner, the sun's wrath still lingered on. It was so stifling that both Lily and Marlene had taken to fanning themselves with napkins, while Marlene's younger brother pleaded for a Cooling Charm.

"Dad, please," ten year old Jacob McKinnon groaned, his sweaty forehead sticking to the table as he hung his head. "We're all dying."

From the look on his face, you could quite easily tell that Johnathan McKinnon was not at all phased by his young son's dramatics. He simply picked up his own napkin and folded it across his lap.

"Eat your carrots," was all he instructed.

The dynamic of the McKinnon family was something that intrigued Lily. There was only the three of them since Marlene's mother had left - a long time ago, before the girls had even met. She had been a simple Muggle woman, and like with many mixed marriages in the Wizarding world, it simply had not worked. Marlene didn't talk about it much, but Lily knew that she hadn't quite moved on from resenting her absence.

"He does have a point, Dad," Marlene huffed, more out of the discomfort from the heat than anything else. "It is sweltering. Even Muggles have air conditioning!"

Mr. McKinnon simply looked over his daughter while idly chewing a carrot. Another thing of intrigue; the McKinnon family all looked shockingly alike. They shared the same fair - but not quite as fair as Lily's - skin, with mouths slightly too wide for the rest of their face, and the same standard blue eyes. Even with Jacob's brown hair standing stark to the blonde of his sister and father, the resemblance was remarkable.

Lily, on the other hand, felt she was barely related to her own family at all.

She felt the heat rising in her face and she couldn't help but agree internally with the complaining siblings. Her sundress was sticking uncomfortably to her back, only encouraging by the rigid wood of the chair pressing against it. She was almost certain that her reddened complexion was only worsened by her hair, which stuck to her skin in sporadic, damp strands.

Marlene tried again. "Look, even Lily is suffocating. She's a guest."

Jacob pulled his head up from the table to nod in agreement. Before Lily could even utter a polite "Oh, it's no bother at all, Mr. McKinnon", the older wizard let out a defeated sigh and pulled out his wand with a flourish.

Within seconds, the room was at a barely temperature.

"Oh thank Merlin!" the siblings exclaimed, quite eerily, at the same time. They mirrored each other as they straightened themselves and resumed their food. Lily, too, was relieved and subtly began to peel the strands of hair from her face.

Johnathan gave his children a slightly stern look. "Magic isn't just about laziness, you know."

"No," Marlene replied, her voice muffled while she chewed on a piece of lamb, "But it is a nice convenience."

On a normal day, Johnathan was much kinder to his children and was certainly much politer in front of company. However, today his emotions seemed highly strung. Lily put it down to the heat.

The wireless radio in the corner of the dining room made a slight buzzing as it changed from a soft Vertician Bloom song into the overexcited voice of a news commentator.

 _"Summer is certainly searing the streets of England at the moment - a high of 28 degrees this week in Cornwall! Predictors of the forthcoming months say we're in for even more dry spells and that the temperature will be rising. The next seen rain is said to be at least a month away!"_

Sinking into their seats, all four occupants of the dining room chairs shared a sigh.

 _"Seeing as there is little more to say on our weather report, let's move onto the news."_ The wireless program played a laughable attempt at an ominous jingle, before a man with a deep, serious voice took the microphone. _"Following the rumours last week of a dispute in East London, the Minister of Magic appears to be keeping mum with his thoughts on the situation. Little was said as Minister Daxford left his office yesterday, but this only seems to be confirming worries within the community. Jenson Ableworth, reporter of Magical Politics, suggested that - "_

"This is boring," Jacob whined. "Can we listen to the Quidditch channel instead?"

Lily, Marlene and Jacob all looked to Mr. McKinnon who had a strange and worrisome look on his face. Upon their gaze, his expression softened and he flicked his wand at the wireless.

"Yes, of course. We've had quite enough of this." And under his breath, "It's all a bunch of fear mongering at this point."

The youngest in the room did not hear this, but Lily and Marlene did. They shared a look.

Marlene then raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Done with dinner?" Her tone betrayed the innocent query, but when Lily looked at her friend's father he seemed rather distracted with his own thoughts. She nodded, and joined her friend in clearing the dinner table.

Upon having the dishes magically washed and put away, the girls retreated to the porch in attempts to enjoy the cool, night air. The heat hadn't dropped very much at all, much to their dismay, but it was quiet on the street and the streetlamps were beginning to flicker on.

Both girls sat on the porch step in silence for a few minutes. Occasionally, a car would pass, reminding Lily of the muggle world. It was quite easy to get caught up in magical life; her childhood was almost a foreign concept. She brought her knees to her chin and simply watched as they drove past.

"That was odd, don't you think?" Marlene said after a short while. Her eyebrows were pulled together with a soft frown. She was chewing her left thumbnail, something she notably did when fixated on troubling thoughts.

Lily studied her for a moment. "What was?"

"You know - my dad. It's not normal for him to be in such a mood."

Lily gave Marlene a reassuring smile. "This summer has certainly gotten all of us in a bit of a rotten state." But Marlene shook her head.

"It's not that." She pulled her thumb from her mouth to inspect her gnawed fingernail, and proceeded to continue in her chewing. "I think it might be work related."

Mr. McKinnon worked for the Invisibility Task Force, a subsection of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It would be a tiring job, keeping an eye out for suspecting Muggles and making sure secrets stayed, well, secret. But the look on Marlene's face made Lily suspect that his mood was different to that of simple exhaustion.

"I dunno," she continued. "Things have been hectic recently. It's like there's something in the air. Every day there's at least one report of a Muggle witnessing some or other. Yesterday, it took his entire team to obliviate a school bus of children who were convinced they'd seen a woman turn into a crow!"

Lily pressed her lips together. "It does seem to be happening an awful lot."

"Maybe they're just getting smarter." She leant back against the outside wall of her house. "Or maybe we're getting less smart."

A heavy silence fell between when Lily could not bring herself to agree nor disagree. Another car passed, it's rumbling cutting the air and its headlights glaring in the darkening sky. They both let out a sigh, Marlene's softer than her friend's. Lily reached across and gingerly touched her knee.

"We'll be in Brighton soon," she offered. "Ice cream, bicycles down the beach - it'll be fun."

Marlene only murmured, her eyes still focussed on the road.

* * *

(July 5th 1976)

The heat in Brighton wasn't quite as stifling as it had been at Marlene's house. Lily supposed it was because of the sea. The wind blew gently in shore, filling the cobbled lanes with a soft, salty smell.

Ambria had not failed in her excited welcome, exclaiming profusely that she was so thrilled that they had arrived as if they had not been promising for weeks that they would. Her blue hair bounced on her shoulders as she bounced through her house.

"Your bedroom is down here," she said, carrying Puddington (who was visibly disgruntled) in her arms. "I hope you don't mind sharing, but I did make an effort to make it comfortable."

Marlene and Lily trailed after her, bags tucked under their arms, as she led them to the end of the house. She pushed open the door to said bedroom, revealing two single beds parallel to one another with matching sea foam sheets. Across from them, against a large bay window, sat a large dresser and mirror covered in dainty candles. It did look comfortable, Lily noted.

Once they had unpacked the beginnings of their bags, Marlene threw herself onto her claimed bed and let out a content sound.

"Was your journey long?" Ambria asked, perched on an armchair.

Lily shrugged. "It was, but the scenery was nice."

"What she means is -" Marlene corrected, arching her back with closed eyes and a grin, "- that the scenery outside was nothing worth noting, but the scenery inside was of another matter."

"Ooh, a boy?"

Marlene's eyes opened and her grin widened. "A fit boy. And he was flirting with Lily."

While Ambria leaned forward in excitement, Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was true, there had been a boy and in an objective sense, he had been fit. But fit in a sort of he-knew-it-very-well kind of way. The sort of boy who often found himself flirting with girls on a train. The sort of boy Lily very much wanted to avoid, even if it was only for an hour or two.

"Did you flirt back?" her friend asked, with a little too much hope in her eyes for Lily's liking.

Marlene snorted. "Of course she didn't."

Ambria let out an all but frustrated sigh. "I'd have flirted back."

"You wouldn't have wanted to, trust me," Lily replied, shrugging her shoulders. "There are better boys to worry about than one who spends way too much time concerning himself with his hair."

"Oh right, like ones who don't wash theirs for a week and are going for that black, greasy tar look?"

It was like Marlene hadn't even heard the words coming out of her mouth. She was preoccupied with flicking through the teen Muggle magazine she had picked up at the train station, but Lily felt her chest jolt a little in discomfort. She was used to the girls disagreeing about her friendship with Sev; she wasn't used to being on their side, though.

Ambria shot a sudden look towards her blonde friend. "Mar." Her voice was sharp with warning, unusually different from her normal soprano.

She looked up, registering both Ambria's tone and what she had just said. Her face contorted. "Sorry."

Lily shrugged. "It's alright."

But it wasn't. Not really. For some reason, since the end of the school year and throughout the first weeks of summer, Lily carried around the thoughts of Severus with a heavy weight. It felt tense in her shoulders, like something she wanted to shrug off but no amount of squirming would ease the burden.

She knew that her friends thought there was more to her friendship than she was admitting. She knew they thought she fancied him. However, while it was something she pondered most days, she had never quite come to a conclusion.

Did she care for Severus? Yes. She couldn't pretend that she still didn't. But it was like trying to tame a crow and pretend it was a canary. No amount of hoping or wishing was going to change the path that she could see he was beginning to follow.

But she couldn't help trying.

"We should go to the fun fair tomorrow night!" Ambria said excitedly, jumping up from her perch. "I could hex for some candy floss."

"Oh, yes, and one of those tubs of caramel popcorn," Marlene agreed. "I reckon I could con some poor sod into winning me a soft toy too."

"It's decided then!"

Both girls looked to Lily expectantly. Blinking slightly, she let out a gentle smile. "Sure. Sounds good to me."

Marlene nodded in return, looking back to her magazine. Ambria, however, crossed the room to sit beside Lily. She took her hand gently in hers and gave her a small look. She was the sensitive one.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

Lily forced another gentle smile. "Perfect," she said, and gave her friend's hand a squeeze.


	3. II: James

**Chapter two!**

 **Reviews and feedback are appreciated, as always.**

* * *

(June 18th 1976)

There was nothing quite like the prospect of a long, hot summer. And there was nothing that James Potter liked more than the idea of spending that summer however and wherever he pleased.

He leant back into the cushioned seat of the Hogwarts Express, his long and skinny legs stretched out in front of him. His feet rested on the seat opposite, settled between two other boys. The first, tall and willowy, had his head leant against the window with his eyes closed. It was evident from his pallor that Remus Lupin was, indeed, in good need of some sleep. Beside him, Sirius Black twirled his wand between his fingers.

"Where's Wormtail?" he mused, not taking his eyes from his wand. The fourth component of their syndicate had yet to appear on the train.

James shrugged. "He said he forgot something back at the castle."

"Was it his head?"

Despite giving Sirius a grin, James reprimanded him. "Lay off, alright." When Sirius simply responded with an unenthusiastic grunt, he added, "You're a grumpy git today, you know that?"

Before his friend could give a snarky retort, Peter Pettigrew, the final addition, wrenched open the compartment door with a flushed face. He stumbled in, almost tripping over James' outstretched legs, and clumsily caught himself on the seat next to him.

Clearly out of breath, he tried a smile. "Hullo." He nodded to Remus in the corner. "He didn't take long to pass out."

Remus did not stir at the sound of Peter's arrival. Sirius, however, straightened himself and tucked his wand into his sleeve.

"Right, now that we're all here," he started, "we've got havoc to plan."

"Isn't the whole point of havoc that it's supposed to be spontaneous?" Peter asked, a deep frown setting in his wide face. Sirius shook his head with almost a pitying sigh, to which Peter's frown became indignant. "What? It is, isn't it?"

Reaching over, the dark haired boy clapped a hand on to Peter's shoulder. "Petey, true art takes preparation. We've got exactly eighty-nine days to fill and I plan on leaving a mark. "

"Wasn't sneaking into the girls' dorm and permanently charming our names onto their bathroom mirror a mark?"

James grinned. "While that was fun, I think what Sirius is talking about is less liberal, more… _symbolic_."

"Right!" Sirius matched James' grin, in a mixture of mischief and glee. "Symbolic. Who knows how many more summers we can get by before we're too old and boring to get away with this stuff?"

"We barely get away with it now," came Remus' voice, though he made no attempt to open his eyes. He said nothing more, and appeared to go back to his dozing.

Sirius clapped his hands together once. "And think of this summer as a warm up. To earn the title of Hogwarts' legends, we're going to have to get creative."

The three boys shared looks of differing expressions. Sirius, quite proud with himself, grinned eagerly at his friends, while Peter looked positively terrified but as if he were happy to be.

James simply shook his head with a rueful smile. "Alright then. What do you have in mind?"

 _"Honestly, Lily, I know we don't like him - "_

 _"We hate him."_

 _"Marlene, shut up. I know we don't like him, but you can always talk to us… you know, if you want to."_

He looked up at the sound of conversation outside of the compartment door. Framed by the light of the late morning sun, three silhouettes stood - one with their head hanging despondently.

 _"It's fine,"_ came a third voice (the one he'd been waiting to hear). _"I told you, it doesn't matter. I'm just trying to forget it."_

Without a word to his comrades, James pushed himself from the seat and towards the door. He drew it open.

"Well, if you're sure…" Ambria started at the sound of the door. "Oh! Hello, James." The small blue haired girl gave him a bright smile.

The girls looked towards him; Marlene's eyes moved through into the compartment and met Sirius' with a nod. Lily met James' gaze for a moment, before promptly looking back to her friends.

"Please just let's find somewhere to sit," she said.

But Marlene was already stepping into the boys' compartment. "Just a sec!" she promised.

Lily let out what James heard to be a dejected sigh and turned down the corridor. "Come find me when you're finished here, okay?"

There was always something in the back of James' head that made him want to follow Lily whenever she walked away. Usually it was the feeling of unfinished business, his desire to fit in the last biting taunt. He had become quite accustomed to her turned back after two years of consistent declines and rejections, but never once did it ever cross his mind to give up.

He watched her as she walked, the usual debate on whether or not to follow playing out in his head. The sound of the compartment door sliding shut brought to his attention that he was now standing alone.

So, he followed.

"Hey, Evans!" he called out. There was a visibly tension in her shoulders when Lily came to an abrupt hault. She turned to him, an argument already forming on her lips.

"What is it, Potter?" she asked. Her voice was not as venomous as it sometimes had been, but instead weary.

James took a moment to take her in. She did look tired. Her skin was pale, though not like the sleeping Remus back in the compartment. It looked drained, and her freckles stood stark against it.

In a moment that was quite unusual, James had no desire to get a rise out of her. He gave her a grin, and habitually ran his hand through his hair.

"Looking forward to the summer?" he asked.

She returned a suspicious look. Placing her hands on her hips, she let out a sigh. "Yeah, I suppose." Looking behind him, she nodded up the corridor. "I'm sure your friends are waiting."

"Aren't you going to ask me if I'm looking forward to mine?"

"I'm not really in the mood for conversation."

There was an awkward pause in which James nodded. "I see that. Snape hurt your feelings again?"

At that, Lily's face hardened. "No. I mean, it's not really your business."

"I really don't understand why you put up with him, especially after -"

" _Potter_."

"If he, you know, called you that word again -"

Lily snapped back at him. "It's _none_ of your _business_."

"I'm just saying!" James threw his hands up in defense. "It's a shitty thing to call someone, and he's a really shitty person."

He could tell by the way her eyes narrowed that he had probably crossed a line. Probably. But the event by the Lake only a few weeks before had left him in desperate need of talking to her.

"Let's just make something clear, Potter," Lily began, her voice oddly controlled, "Your feelings about the matter aren't anything I want to hear about. We're not friends. You can think Severus is a 'shitty' person all you like, but that's your business. And this is mine."

As she turned to walk away, he stepped after her hurriedly. "Evans, wait."

"What?" She turned to look at him incredulously, her bottle green eyes widening and her eyebrows raising.

James' tongue felt like it was swelling in the back of his throat. "Look, I… I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't… okay of me, the other week. By the Lake."

She simply looked at him.

"I mean, I'm not going to say I'm sorry - the git had it coming - but… I, uh, yeah. I didn't mean to, uh, upset you. With it, I mean."

Lily shook her head, and her fists curled at her side. Gritting her teeth, she replied, "You see, this is why we can't even begin to be friends. You are completely incapable of taking responsibility for your actions - for your bully actions - and still expect everyone to let you off scot free."

She stepped towards him suddenly, and James found himself back up against the wall. He was close enough to see her chest rising and falling heavily in angered breaths. With a determined effort, he kept his eyes on hers.

"Well, I won't," she continued, glaring at him. "I have no interest in bickering with you, Potter. And I have no interest in stopping you from carrying on the way you do. That's your business. But I would like it if we could both agree that you keep your business to yourself and stay out of mine."

It wasn't a secret that Lily had not liked James for a rather long time. Yet, there were sometimes - only sometimes - where her words made him feel like he'd been sucker punched. He should have been used to her snapping and reprimands by now - it had been a good three years of them, at least. Usually, he'd find himself frustrated with her, torn between the questions of why and how he even still bothered.

Seeing her there, exhausted and angry, he knew when to make his retreat.

If he pushed any further, that might be the bridge burned for good. Because even though she was right, they weren't friends, maybe one day they could be.

"See you in September, Evans," he said, tipping his head to her. He squeezed past her, heading back to the compartment.

Maybe in three months he could try again.

(June 20th 1976)

"Took you long enough."

James looked up from his stride to see Sirius sat on the crest of the hill, cigarette in hand. It was half-finished, and there was another distinguished butt at his feet. This meant two things. The first: that Sirius had been waiting for him an approximate fifteen minutes.

And the second: that things were unbearable at Grimmauld Place.

James dropped into the grass, which was dry and prickly from the heat, and gave Sirius an apologetic grin. "Got caught halfway out of the door by Mum. You know what she's like."

Sirius nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, then paused. Instead, he took a final drag of his cigarette and stubbed it out. "You ready to go?' he asked, gesturing down the hill. Below them in the dim light of the evening, the streetlamps were just beginning to turn on in the small village.

"Yeah," James said, pushing himself up from the grass. He offered Sirius a hand, and pulled him to his feet. He looked to the old watch on his wrist. "Wormtail and Moony said they'd meet us at nine."

The pair started their descent in silence. The air was still warm from the heat of the day, but a breeze had begun to pick up as they walked. Sirius looked up at the sky as he walked, whistling a quiet tune under his breath. The moon was beginning to emerge above them; it shone weakly in its third phase.

James kicked a stone as they reached the bottom of the hill, watching it as it rolled to a stop. A small cobbled lane stretched out in front of them, leading into the village. Despite the warm air and the fact that it had still not grown dark, the streets were empty.

"Where did we agree on meeting again?" Sirius asked.

"The fountain with the ugly fish."

As Sirius nodded, his shaggy hair bounced against his chin. James watched as it brushed over a small but red mark on his jaw line. Pressing his lips together, he turned his gaze back to the village.

The boys had been best friends for the past five years, and in that time, James had quickly learned when and when not to bring up the subject of Sirius' family. He had heard, of course, of the tales of abuse (though he often suspected that Sirius' downplayed these for the sake of comedic value).

There were some times, however, during the summers where Sirius would arrive at his house unannounced. At first, his mother found it to be quite strange but before long she accepted it as a necessity. When Sirius did this, he didn't say why he was there. James just accepted that he was.

They finally came into the square of the village, where they spotted Remus resting against the fountain. He looked better than he did on the train, James noticed. Home was usually good for him.

"'Evening," Remus greeted, giving them an easy smile.

Sirius returned his smile and slung his arm over Remus' shoulder. "It is good evening, Moony. A good evening indeed."

He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Are you drunk already?"

With a scandalised gasp, Sirius dropped his arm. "I'm simply just being chipper! How dare you, Remus?"

"Well, it would be a first if you weren't."

The three boys rested against the edge of the fountain, once again awaiting their fourth counterpart. Nettlestead Green was a popular meeting point for the boys. It wasn't too far from London, for Sirius to fly in, and close enough to Rochester for James. Over the years, Remus' mother had moved from town to town, but he always seemed to meet there with ease. It was a small little village, with old brick churches and dense farmland, and was quiet enough for them to get up to some mischief relatively undetected. In fact, it was such a landmark in the boys' rendezvous points, that on the edge of the fountain lay four scrawled sets of initials.

Fifteen minutes or so passed, and James found himself looking at his watch. "Bloody hell, is there ever a time Wormtail is not late?"

"Probably not," Sirius answered, digging into the pockets of his large black coat. He pulled out a small pocket watch and flipped open the lid. Instead of traditional clock face, with hands and numbers, there was a small dial with each of the boys' faces painted onto one of the four hands. Three of these pointed north; the remaining pointed southwest.

"He's still at home," Remus noted, his brow pulling together thoughtfully. "Surely he would have left by now."

James murmured in agreeance. While Peter was characteristically late, he was never quite that late. His mind flicked momentarily back to the front page of the Daily Prophet he had been reading this morning, and he felt a small spark of concern.

"Come on then." Impulsively, James started towards the hill where he and Sirius had first met. There was a fallen tree in the wood in which they often concealed their brooms. His friends shared a quick look, before falling in to step behind him.

Together, they made their way up the hill to find Peter.

(20th June 1976)

Mrs. Pettigrew sat sobbing at the kitchen table.

The four boys, not quite sure what to do with themselves, sat with their cups of tea untouched. Peter, whose absence was now being explained, gripped his cup tightly, the whites of his knuckles beginning to show.

They sat in the kitchen of Peter's childhood home. The kitchen was familiar to them all, as they would once upon a time spend their holidays being spoiled rotten by the single Mrs. Pettigrew and her passion for baked goods. It was a relatively small kitchen, with bare brick walls, and a fireplace. Brass pots and pans hung from the ceiling above the table, and a small refrigerator rumbled quietly in the corner.

"What am I going to _do_?" Mrs Pettigrew cried, muffling her following sobs into a cotton handkerchief. "We've always lived in this house. This is our _home_."

Peter's face was contorted with a mixture of sympathy for his mother, and an unusual anger James didn't think he had seen before. "It's okay, Mum. He can't get us kicked out. Surely, he can't."

"But what if he does?"

Remus reached across the table and gently touched Mrs. Pettigrew's hand. "I'm sure he has no grounds, Mrs. P. You haven't broken any of tenancy laws."

Despite his gesture, Remus' words seemed not to affect her distress. "Oh, Peter, where will we go? Where will I go? Who will take on a middle aged woman who works at the post office for a living? Nobody sane, that's who!"

"Mum, please…"

"Over there you took your first steps, Peter," she continued, her hand flailing in the direction of the hallway. She blew her nose noisily, and went on. "And you sat right in that very chair when you received your letter from Hogwarts!"

James watched as Peter's jaw pulsed, setting his teeth in a hard grit. "Mr. Barrowman won't kick us out. He can't. Like Remus said -"

"Oh, but he's so awful, Peter! I just can't bear it any longer!"

"I know, Mum." Peter's voice was quiet, and sad.

Mrs. Pettigrew's sobs began to gradually subside, fading to soft sniffles into her handkerchief. Sirius had been looking to his cup for an awfully long time, keeping awkwardly silent. After a small while, no sound filled the room beside the crackling of the small fire on the wall.

Peter's face was pale, but his features were set in a determined expression. "Come on, Mum. I'll help you to bed."

Tucking away her handkerchief, the older woman waved him away. "No, no, don't be silly." She made a clumsy attempt to fix her greying hair, and picked up her teaspoon to judge her appearance. She let out a sad laugh. "Oh, what a state. I do apologise, boys. I know you had plans tonight."

"No need to be sorry, Mrs. P," Remus said. He offered her a small smile. "We've still got plenty of time."

She gave him a warning look, though the feeling wasn't quite in it. "Now, don't you stay out too late. I know it's warm out there, but growing boys do need their sleep."

"Yes, Mrs. Pettigrew," the three boys chorused, followed by Peter's, "Yes, Mum. Come on, you need sleep too. We'll figure out what to do with Mr. Barrowman in the morning."

At the mention of their neighbour, Mrs. Pettigrew's eyes began to fill once again. Peter hurriedly took the crook of her elbow, and gently ushered her out of the room.

Sirius looked up from his cold cup of tea and blew air from his cheeks. "Merlin. I hate it when mums cry."

James returned solemn nod. "Yeah, me too." He looked out into the hallway and listened for the footsteps on the floor above. "I don't think I've ever seen Wormtail angry like that either."

"Neither have I," Remus said, quite concerned. "It takes a lot, I suppose. But he has mentioned this Barrowman bloke before. Apparently he's quite the real estate investor. He's been targeting landlords around here for months, trying to buy out their homes and kicking out their tenants."

"What will happen, do you reckon?" James asked. "If he manages to buy this place out."

Remus shrugged. "I'm not entirely certain. Depending on the notice given by the landlord, there is a possibility she could have to find a new home. It does depend on the tenancy agreement though, I suppose."

"Poor Mrs. P." Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "This Barrowman needs taking down a peg or two. No one can force someone out of their own home - it's just not right. And especially Mrs. P - who'd want to send such a lovely little woman out onto the street? He must be a bloody monster!"

"Agreed, but there's not much a bunch of sixteen year old boys can do about it," Remus replied.

Resting his chin in hand, James began to ponder. He chewed his lip, something he was known to do when troubled with a problem. "Well, there's nothing we can do about the house buying, no. But there might be something we can do about taking him down a peg or two."

Both looking at him, Sirius' eyes lit up and Remus raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Prongs?"

(21st June 1976)

If one of the residents of Crawley had looked out of their window at two twenty-four in the morning, they would have seen four rather suspicious looking teenagers lurking in the alleyway behind Mr. Gerald Barrowman's garden. Dressed in dark coats, with their hoods pulled up over their heads, they looked like quite the delinquents.

Which, in all honesty, was what the Marauders really were.

James looked down the alleyway out of habit, while Sirius made work on the fickle lock on the gate into the garden. While Peter shone a small torch onto Sirius' hands, Remus joined James in keeping a look out for any potential witnesses.

"Muggle locks are such a pain," Sirius complained, giving the gate a swift kick when his effort with the lock appeared a waste. "Where's a good Alohomora when you need one?"

"Watch your voice," Remus hushed, flicking his eyes up to Mr. Barrowman's house. The lights remained off, leaving the house before them in complete darkness, and assumedly Mr. Barrowman's sleeping body inside. "And unless you want a nice warning from the Ministry, I suggest you figure out that lock using methods other than your wand."

Sirius grumbled unintelligibly, but continued his fumbling with the lock. James suppressed a smile at the familiar interaction between his friends. Once checking the alleyway once more, he turned to Peter, who was still very quiet.

"You alright?" he asked softly. Peter nodded, but there was something odd about his expression. James reached out and gripped his shoulder. "Look, it might not help your mum's situation, but at least we'll get the satisfaction of knowing he'll wake up very, very pissed off in the morning."

At that, Peter returned a weak smile. "Yeah. That'll be something at least."

"We're in!" Sirius all but shouted. With another harsh hushing from Remus, he slipped into the garden, his friends following behind.

The garden outside of Mr. Barrowman's house was exactly as the boys might have expected it. Pristine cut lawns, with short shrubbery around the edge. There stood a whirly-gig clothes line by the back door of the house, and only a few metres from the gate sat a very well kept wooden shed.

James grinned when he saw it.

"Over here," he murmured to the other boys, walking gingerly through the grass towards the shed. It was relatively large, with two small windows on the side. James ran his fingers along the frames of the windows, looking for any weaknesses. On the second window, he found a small space underneath the frame and pulled it open.

He looked to his friends. "We're all in agreement, yes? We're going to set off the Crack-o-Whizz bomb in there, and leg it."

While Sirius and Remus nodded, Peter spoke up. "I want to stand in the alley and watch. I want to make sure it _blows up_."

The boys looked at their friend, surprised and impressed. Sirius gave a soft cackle, and patted Peter on the shoulder. "This," he said, shaking Peter gently, "this is what I meant about leaving our mark."

James rummaged the pockets of his coat, and withdrew a small, galleon-sized disk with a small wick protruding from its side. He held out his free hand to Sirius.

"Lighter?"

Sirius obliged, sliding a small metal zippo into his friend's hand. With a shared grin, James took the lighter, held up the Crack-o-Whizz bomb before his face, and lit the wick.

In a quick move, he slipped the flaming explosive into the crack of the window. Before he even began to turn around, Sirius, Remus and Peter were already shuffling towards the gate. He followed them, but not before throwing a quick glance over his shoulder.

Once they pulled the gate closed, they stood back in the alleyway and watched their work unfold.

"Is it working?" Peter whispered after a minute. The garden was strangely quiet, and James found himself holding his breath. Anticipation filled the area around the four, as they waited for the chaos to start.

And it did.

Slowly, but surely, a small spiral of smoke began to rise from the garden edge. After a moment, it was met with a loud hissing noise before violet coloured sparks began shooting up into the dark sky. Sirius appeared unable to help himself; James shushed him with a laugh as he cried out in excitement. The sparks became stronger and more frequent, before a loud bang emitted through the entire street.

The boys took this as their cue. Clambering clumsily in fits of laughter, the four of them stumbled out of the alleyway and back towards Peter's house. None of them considered the havoc to have been in any way detrimental to Mrs. Pettigrew - after all, how could Mr. Barrowman possibly prove it was them?

And as the boys laughed hysterically, running out onto the lit street, they left with one last sound ringing in their ears: the disgruntled cry of Mr. Barrowman's voice.

(6th July 1976)

James walked into his bedroom to find Sirius sprawled out on it bed, reading a letter.

"Just let yourself in then?" he asked with a grin, dropping his broom in the corner. He stretched his arms above his head, before tugging his damp jumper off. Sirius responded with nothing but a grunt, not tearing his eyes from the page in front of him. "Marlene?"

"Yeah, they're in Brighton."

"They?" James raised an eyebrow before grabbing a towel and another change of clothes. "I'm just going to shower too. The heat is disgusting for having a fly."

Sirius looked up at him and wrinkled his nose. "Ah, I thought I could smell something." Narrowly avoiding James' incoming sweaty jumper, he answered his previous question. "And yeah, she's visiting Ambria with Lily. They're spending a couple of months down there."

At the mention of Lily's name, James had to stop himself from pausing. He pressed his lips together and attempted with everything he could source to act casual.

"Oh yeah?" said James. "That'll be nice for them."

Sirius raised a knowing eyebrow. "Mm-hm. Say, Prongsy, did you ever speak to her after that time by the Lake?"

"Speak to who?"

Sirius didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. James let out a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I tried on the train. She made it quite clear that she didn't want to be friends."

"Eh, not so bad." He turned back to the letter. "You know, it sucks but I think we both know you're never going to get anywhere with her. Not right now. She's too stubborn."

James' mouth moved into a thin line. "I know." And he did know. Maybe that's why he kept trying.

James could tell his friend was eyeing him over the edge of his letter, but he turned his back to him. "I'm going to go shower."

"Alright," said Sirius. He called out, just as James reached the doorway. "Hey! Fancy a trip to Brighton fun fair tonight?"

He let out a sigh. This backing off Lily business may prove harder than he had expected.


	4. III: Two Truths, One Lie

**Previously:** The students have finished their fifth year at Hogwarts and are free to enjoy their summers. Lily has joined her friends in Brighton. The Marauders have blown up a shed. Lily has told James, quite frankly, that they are not in the least friends.

 **Reviews are always appreciated and warm hugs are returned.**

* * *

(6th July 1976)

Amongst the lights and the crowds of the Brighton pier fun fair, the last people Lily expected to see were three familiar faces.

Sirius Black threw both of his arms around Marlene's neck from behind and burrowed his head into her shoulder. "Hullo, Cricket!"

With an excited grin, the blonde turned her head towards his. "Sirius! Hello James, hello Remus."

James returned her greeting with a nod, Remus gave her a smile. "Hi Marlene," the latter responded. From the queue lining up to the candy floss stand, Ambria waved over to them excitedly.

"Alright Evans?" Once Sirius had untangled himself from his embrace of Marlene, he turned to her. "You're looking lovely this evening."

Suddenly self-conscious under the gaze of the three boys, Lily pulled her light cream cardigan closer around her torso. "Thanks," she said tightly.

"I'm so glad you came," Marlene put in, looping her arm through Sirius', "neither of these two will go on the dodgems with me!"

"Aw, what wussies. I'll take you on."

Marlene raised an eyebrow. "You do know how to drive one though, right?"

"Eh, how hard can it be?" said Sirius, with a nonchalant shrug. "It's just crashing into each other, right?"

"Right. Better prepare yourself for some whiplash though because I'm going to kick your arse."

Sirius laughed out loud, and took his arm from hers to sling over her shoulder. "Whatever you say, Marls. But don't come crying to me when I beat you."

"As if I would cry."

The pair took off excitedly towards the dodgem cars, continuing their good natured bickering. Lily watched them as they left, rolling her eyes as she watched Marlene elbow Sirius (quite roughly) in the side.

"How are you, Lily?" Remus walked over to her with a small smile. Out of all the Marauders, Remus was the only one she considered a true friend. It was mostly due to the fact they were the only two Gryffindors to partake in the gruelling hours of Arithmancy, and had bonded over the sheer torture that Professor Armindale subjected them to.

She returned his smile. "I'm doing okay. What about you? Enjoying your break so far?"

"It's been okay, sort of the standard."

"I heard you blew up a shed," said Lily dryly, her eyebrow cocking.

With a coy smile, Remus ducked his head. "Would you believe me if I said it was for the greater good?"

"Oh, not at all."

But Lily grinned at him, before flicking her eyes over to the seemingly lost James Potter. He was standing silently next to Remus, his eyes wide as he took in his surroundings.

"He's never been to a fun fair before," Remus murmured into her ear, following her gaze. "I think he's a bit out of his depth."

"So it seems. Where's Peter?"

Remus shrugged. "Dealing with stuff at home. His mum's a bit stressed."

"Nothing too bad, I hope?"

"Nah, nothing they can't handle." At that, Remus' smile returned, "I have a suspicion that their neighbour will have bigger problems on his hands."

Lily's eyebrow raised again. "This wouldn't be a shed related problem, would it?" But Remus said nothing.

From her patient wait in the queue, Ambria bounced over to them, candy floss in hand. "How splendid of you to join us, boys! James, are you quite alright?"

The three of them looked at the dark haired boy as he blinked back.

"Uh, yeah," said James. "Wicked."

Lily couldn't help but try to suppress a smile. It was rather refreshing to see the almighty and confident James Potter utterly bewildered by something as simple as a fun fair. This was the James Potter who from the early age of eleven had attempted to impress and bewilder Lily will every magical object he could get his hands on. This was the James Potter who believed he knew it all. And he was absolutely stumped.

Gleeful wasn't exactly the word Lily would use for how she feeling right then, but it was nothing short of satisfaction.

Remus chuckled, and nodded his head towards the dodgem cars. "Come on, let's go see Sirius get his ego demolished."

The four of them squeezed through the crowds towards where Sirius and Marlene were whizzing around. Even in the heat, the fun fair was packed with children screaming in delight and their parents making futile attempts to reign them in. Lily walked beside Ambria, making sure to keep her distance from James. She remembered their last discussion on the train, and she did not want to deal with any more of his thoughts on the matter.

"I do love candy floss," Ambria said, evidently thinking out loud as she often did. Her blue haired was fluorescent under the neon lights of the fair. Lily simply smiled at her friend, as they came up to the barrier of the dodgems.

Sirius and Marlene were both letting out shrieks of excitement as they rammed and swerved around the other cars in the arena.

While James looked positively alarmed and intrigued at the entire scene, Lily, Ambria and Remus laughed along and cheered for their friends.

(6th July 1976)

" _Bloody Nora_ ," Sirius complained, rubbing the back of his neck, "remind me never to partake in any violent activity with that woman again."

James grinned. "She did say she was going to kick your arse."

With a harrumph, Sirius dropped his hand. "Yeah, well that's the last time I underestimate a pretty blonde. You'd think I'd done something to piss her off."

"Well, she's the one girl you haven't shagged, so we can count that out."

"And I can say I don't plan to. Merlin knows what a horror she is in bed."

James laughed. The six of them had wandered away from the noisy screams of the rides and had found themselves amongst gaudily painted stalls advertising a range of games that James highly suspected were rigged. Still, it seemed decidedly safer in his opinion.

"Oh, that was so close, Remus!" Ambria called out in disappointment. Marlene, Lily, Remus and herself were lined up in front of a ring toss game. The man behind the stall counter gave Remus - who was holding his last ring - a condescending smirk. He was tall, and ould not have been much older than the six of them, but his patchy scruff and the darkened rings around his eyes made James' stomach twinge with unease.

"A quid for another set of five," he said, tipping his head to the sixteen year olds. He looked over at James and Sirius. "Maybe your mates over there might have a better chance at winning these pretty ladies a prize."

While Marlene's flirtatious smile at the vendor did not go unnoticed, James caught the sight of Lily rolling her eyes.

"Are we pretty enough for a free teddy, do you think?" Marlene asked, leaning over the counter.

The vendor took a long look at Marlene, his eyes appraising her long legs revealed in her summer shorts. "Tell you what, love. If your friends can get one ring on a bottle, I'll let you girls have one each."

Marlene beamed up at Remus. "Reckon you can do it, Lupin?"

Remus tossed the ring, a little uneasily, in his hand. "I'm pretty sure this is set up for me not to win."

"Well, you'll never win if you have an attitude like that," said Ambria. She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. "Good luck only comes to those who will it."

He gave the smaller girl a rueful smile. "Alright, Stretton. But if I lose, you owe me a bottle of pop."

"Yeah, well if you lose, you owe all three of us a teddy." Marlene came to his free hand and looped her arm through his. "I believe in you, Remus. Feel the ring, trust the ring, _be the ring_."

He stepped back for a moment, eyeing his target, and doing as Marlene said, appeared to be feeling the ring in his hand. Running his thumb over the edge, he pulled back his arm and threw.

The three girls watched on with bated breath, while Sirius and James tried very hard not to react to the suspicious leer the vendor was giving their friends.

The ring missed the bottle, clattering against the glass as it fell out of view.

A positively irritating bell noise rang out as the vendor clapped his hands slowly, turning back to the group with a devilish grin. Both Marlene and Ambria let out a disappointed sigh. "Sorry folks, a game's a game." He leaned over towards Marlene, reached out and touched her cheek. "No teddy for you, love."

" _Oi!_ " Sirius began. James rather quickly grabbed his shoulder as he started towards the stall, his fingers pressing firmly into Sirius' skin. He simply raised his eyebrows when Sirius looked back at him.

Remus sighed, and stepped away from the stall. "Come on then. We'll have a try at something else."

As he, Marlene and Ambria turned to walk away, they were interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the wooden counter.

"Let me try."

Lily stared fiercely at the vendor (something that made James' stomach give a familiar jolt) and pushed the coin towards him. The vendor grinned, slow and smug, and reached to fetch her a handful of rings.

Upon his return, Lily took the rings and added: "And if I win, you'll give my friend here any prize that she likes."

"Sure thing, love," he replied. "But I don't see that happening."

James watched as Lily lined herself up against the bottles in front of her, her green eyes squinting. Her jaw was set determinedly, and a small point pulsed below her ear. This was a Lily he liked seeing the most; the bright spark, the fire and the fierceness brought out when fighting for her friends.

She pulled back her hand, holding the first ring, and threw it.

(7th July 1976)

It was well after midnight, and Lily still found herself in the company of her five friends. The sea rushed over her bare feet; she shivered, despite the humidity in the air. Pulling her light cardigan further around her shoulders, she looked out onto the dark horizon.

Behind her, Marlene, Remus and James sat in the sand, laughing at a joke James had just cracked about the absent Sirius. He and Ambria were soon to return from her house, in which Lily hoped they had found the blankets they had gone searching for.

She turned back to walk towards them, her now wet feet sinking into the gritty sand. Marlene looked up at her, grinned and hugged her stuffed penguin into her chest.

"Alright, Lily?" she asked, scooting closer to the boys in order for Lily to sit down. Lily nodded, dropping next to her, and returned her smile. "The boys were thinking about playing a game when the other two get back."

"What sort of game?"

Marlene's grin widened. "A drinking game."

Before Lily could open her mouth to refute the suggestion, Remus leaned over from his spot and said, "Don't worry, things won't get too out of hand. There's at least two of us here that are at least slightly responsible."

"I consider myself completely responsible, thank you," Lily replied, folding her arms, "But as for you, I'm not so sure."

He put an offended hand to his chest. "That really hurts, Lily. It truly does."

"Excuse _me_ ," Marlene interjected. "I'm responsible!"

It was now James' turn to step in. He grinned, flicking some sand in her direction. "What about the time we found you passed out naked in the common room?"

Marlene's cheeks flushed dramatically. She pulled her stuffed penguin up to cover her face, muffling her voice. "We don't talk about that."

"Well then, case closed," said Remus, "there's only two of us here that are responsible."

It was at that moment that Lily accidentally caught James' gaze. She bit the inside of her cheek, quickly looking away. Despite being in the boy's company for well over five hours, the two of them had yet to speak. It was strange of him, she thought, and the entire situation did make her feel awfully wary. She was waiting for the bomb to drop, for him to say something entirely appropriate and ruin their entire evening.

But as of that point, he hadn't and for that she had to admit she was grateful.

Leaning back on her hands, Lily looked up at Remus. "Where do you even plan on getting drinks for a drinking game? Last time I checked neither Sirius nor Ambria had anything remotely close to fake Muggle IDs."

"Oh, Sirius always has a couple of bottles of firewhiskey," said Marlene. When Lily raised an eyebrow, she threw up her hands in defense. "Hey, it comes with it's benefits sometimes."

"And this is how you end up on the common room floor naked."

"Oi, shut up Potter."

This exchange only lead into a fifteen minute bicker between the two of them, something Lily quite happily stayed out of. After the first few moments, Remus looked to Lily, nodded his head towards the water and pushed himself to his feet. She followed.

They walked quietly for a few moments, the sounds of Marlene and James' argument continuing behind them. Phrases such as 'absolute prat' and 'hypocrite' wafted after them, to which both Remus and Lily's lips turned up at the corners.

Lily kicked a lone pebble into the water as they walked, watching it roll in the gentle surf. "Today was really fun."

"You sound surprised by that."

She shrugged a bit. "Well, you know, I don't exactly have the greatest track record with your friends. It has been surprisingly civil."

Remus let out a gentle laugh. "Yeah, I know. But I think you know they aren't that bad, deep down."

"Mm, doubtful."

"You're a bit of a cynic, Lily, has anyone ever told you that?"

"And you're too smart to be messing about with them, has anyone ever told you that?"

Once again, he laughed. "Yes actually, I believe you've mentioned it a few times." He paused in his walk, and let out a somewhat laboured breath. "But they are good friends, despite what you might see them as."

Lily returned a rather unenthusiastic murmur. For a moment, Remus bit his lip and reached out to touch Lily's shoulder.

"About the other week…" he began.

She threw her hands up in the air. "Not you too, please!"

"Hey, hear me out," he protested, but gave her a small smile. "You make it so easy for them to call you fiery, you know."

" _Remus_."

"Sorry, sorry." He composed himself into a genuinely apologetic stance. "Look, what James did wasn't right but he is really sorry, you know. It was all he could talk about."

Like she had said before, this was not something Lily particularly wanted to hear. But she liked Remus, and the reason she liked Remus the most because he never did anything with truly ill intentions. So, she let him continue.

She pursed her lips. "How annoying for you."

"It was, now that you mention it." Remus studied her for a moment. "And he is trying really hard not to breach your space again, after what you said to him on the train."

At this, Lily was surprised. "He told you about that?"

"About you telling him you weren't friends and implied that you never would be?" he asked, his eyebrows raising. "Of course, he tells us everything. And for the record, that was a bit harsh of you."

"It's the truth," said Lily, her voice indignant. "We aren't friends."

"Because you're both as stubborn as each other."

" _Or,_ " Lily countered, getting rather annoyed, "because I don't want to be. I don't have to be friends with everyone in our house."

It was Remus' turn to be defensive again. He raised his hands gently. "And I'm not saying you have to be. I'm just saying - tonight has been really nice, you were right. I'm actually kind of proud of the pair of you. Obviously having you not speak to each other isn't _ideal_ , but it's better than usual."

Lily pondered his words for a moment, wiggled her toes in the sand as she did. Granted that she stayed out of his way, it would be rather unlikely for her to get caught in the midst of his terrorisation of other students. Besides, his bullying no longer really concerned her (and his object of prey, for that matter). She looked back over to Marlene and James, who had seemed to have made up at this point and had been joined by the others.

From a distance, they did look quite happy.

"Okay, you win," said Lily, nudging Remus in the side gently and turning back towards their friends. "I can keep this ignoring-each-other-in-a-civil-way going. You know, for the sake of friendship."

Remus grinned, and started back towards the group. "For friendship."

Ambria and Sirius were now sitting with Marlene and James; Sirius' arm was draped over Ambria's shoulder and in his other hand held a bottle of amber liquid. He raised it as Lily approached, a wild grin on his face.

Colourful blankets lay beneath them, another steal from Ambria's house. Lily dropped beside Marlene, and began brushing the sand gently from her feet.

"So everyone in?" Sirius asked, brandishing the firewhiskey towards the group. From his side, Ambria leaned in and whispered something his ear that Lily did not quite catch. At whatever she said, Sirius' smile widened. "Excellent idea, Stretton!"

The girl in question dropped back down with a grin. "I've decided the game we're going to play."

While Lily felt a little uneasy at playing a drinking game in a very public place, with people who couldn't practice being inconspicuous if their lives depended on it, she smothered the urge to protest. She simply pressed her lips together and let them continue.

"Two truths, one lie," Sirius went on, unscrewing the bottle cap.

"What exactly is that?" James inquired, leaning to take the bottle from his friend. He took a swig without another word, and Lily watched him wince.

Ambria shifted herself to lean on Sirius' shoulder, and with a rather dreamy smile, she said, "It's rather self-explanatory. We split into teams of three, and each person takes a turn at telling the group three facts, two true and one false. The other team has to guess which one is the lie, and if they get it right, the playing team have to all take a drink. If they get it wrong, they take it instead."

Clapping her hands together, Marlene cried out, "I dibs being on Sirius' team!" The group looked at her quizzically, and Sirius let out a laugh. She shrugged. "He knows too much about me."

"This is true, Cricket," he agreed. He gently pushed himself to his feet, and pointed at two blankets. "Blue blanket is Team Blue, orange blanket is Team Orange."

"Original," Remus muttered, and ducked his head to avoid a scathing look from Sirius.

"Right, teams then," Marlene said, leaning back on the blue blanket. "James, you can be on Team Blue. Remus, Ambria, Lily, you guys can be together."

Lily shrugged, before moving herself to the orange blanket. "Works for me."

The six of them arranged themselves into their respective teams, taking a few moments to whisper among themselves. After listening to Remus and Ambria's plans of attack, she realized that despite knowing these people for the past five years, there was an awful lot you could learn from a person through a drinking game.

"Me first!" Ambria called, once their chatter had subsided, and brought herself to sit on her knees. She eyed Team Blue with a coy smile. "One, I can tie a Fruity Flobberworm with my tongue. Two…"

(7th July 1976)

It was only forty minutes or so into the game, but James could feel the dreary haze of the firewhiskey settling behind his eyes. At that point, Team Orange were in a surprising lead; Remus apparently knew secrets about him and his teammates that even he didn't know. He could feel the alcohol rising in a flush on his face, and he was thankful for the darkness that no one could see it.

"No, no -" Marlene was clumsily pushing herself to feet, only to drop back on her knees in the sand. Almost aggressively, but with laughter in her eyes, she grabbed the air towards Ambria, while her supposed victim rolled over on her blanket laughing. "- You _promised_ me you didn't!"

Through her giggles, Ambria admitted, "I did, I did, I'm sorry!"

"I can't _believe_ it was you who sent me those Valentine's Day chocolates! I spend an entire month p-plotting a vendetta against Simon Spelinski for making me so sick!"

"Serves'ya right for try'na steal my date." Both the girls had begun slurring their words; they were in that good state of drunkenness, where everything was hilarious and all sins were forgivable.

Marlene swung away from Ambria, and pointed an accusing finger at Lily. "Did you know?"

Shaking her head, Lily began to grow redder. " _N-no_!" But she was giggling and covering her face and had lost all credibility to her denial. Over the past few hours, James had had the privilege of seeing a Lily he was not very accustomed to. Not that he noticed this, of course, as sixteen year boys are wont to do; instead he was too busy focusing on watching his mouth around her and keeping his distance.

But he watched her then, laughing into her hands, her beet coloured skin still showing through the cracks in her fingers. It might have been the firewhiskey (but probably not), but he felt warmer somehow.

"Paddy," Remus called from across the blanket. He laid on his stomach, his long legs sprawled out behind him. "Your turn, mate."

Sirius, who was quite arguably the drunkest of the six, had laid his head back into Marlene's lap now that she had finished with her tirade. His eyes were closed, but his grin was slow and wide. His fingers curled around the neck of the firewhiskey, ready.

"I got an O in my Divination O.W.L," he began, keeping his eyes shut. "I've never had a sex dream about Marlene McKinnon -" His grin widened. "- and I snogged Priscilla Fenwick in the toilets on the train home last month."

James knew the latter to be a very true fact - Sirius did not abide by the rules of kissing and not telling - and would not have been surprised if he had gotten an O in Divination. Despite his lack of subtlety, Sirius did have a rather good way with most of the teachers at school.

"Having a sex dream about Mar," Remus said, frowning a little. "It has to be."

"It better bloody be," said Marlene.

Sirius grinned and turned his head towards Remus and the other girls. "Is that Team Orange's final answer?"

"Hold on, hold on!" Ambria made a show of grabbing both Remus and Lily, and pulling them into what James thought was an attempt at a huddle. She rambled on to them in a hushed voice, though most of the words were relatively audible in her drunken state. "Priscilla… in the compartment… Benjamin… Also, an O?..."

After a few moments, the three of them nodded. Ambria bumped her head against Lily's, sending them both into a small fit of giggles.

"Compose yoursel's, ladies!" Sirius reprimanded, waving the bottle of firewhiskey around again.

They both pressed their lips against their giggles, and sent him an apologetic look. Remus shook his head in mock disappointment.

"We choose the sex dream as the lie," he said. Lily and Ambria nodded beside him in unison.

Sirius' grin only grew wider as he shoved the bottle towards them. "Wrong, wrong, oh-so wrong!"

While Team Orange let out a groan and James let out a cackling laugh, Marlene shoved Sirius, "That's absolutely _disgusting_! So inappropriate!"

"Ow, oi! I can't help what I dream about," he complained, reaching up to grab her flailing arms. "If it makes you feel any better, I felt truly horrible and scarred for life when I woke up."

Pressing her lips together firmly, Marlene sniffed. "That does make me feel better, thank you."

"He told me about it, you know," James said, nudging Marlene with a wink. "Apparently you have quite a penchant for red lacy underwear."

Before Marlene could detach her arms from Sirius' grip to whack James upside the head, Lily's voice rang out. "Oi, Potter!"

Everyone turned to look at her, and James' stomach dropped. He blinked, suddenly feeling much drunker than he had before. She seemed to have realized that she had broken her silence towards him, and rather self-consciously, tucked her legs underneath herself.

She cleared her throat and held out the bottle, now a little emptier. "It's your turn."

James met her eyes when she offered him the firewhiskey, keeping her gaze as he took it from her. Her green eyes stared back at him, nervous but unwavering, and her jaw set determinedly again. Like always, a feeling sparked in his gut in the face of a stubborn, challenging Lily.

"A'right, Evans," he said slowly. When his fingers touched hers upon taking the bottle, her hand contracted back as if she had been stung. The corner of James' lips turned slightly upwards as he watched her curl her pale fingers in her lap.

James had always known he was meant to be a Gryffindor, and in that moment, he was reminded of that again. Surrounded by his housemates, he pressed the bottle to his lips and thought about all the reasons he was a perfect fit. He felt brave - no, courageous - and whether or not that was the alcohol, he didn't care.

He had been on his best behaviour all night. Surely, that deserved some room for a little bit of mischief. For James was brave, and James was reckless. And so it seemed firewhiskey brought the worst out in him.

He repeated himself as he dropped the bottle. "A'right." He held up one clumsy finger, "I've never ridden a broom before." (Obvious lie.) He held up a second finger. "My favourite food is bread and butter pudding."

With his third finger, James' smirked. If he had been any other boy, he would have watched his mouth. If he had been any other boy, he would look upon this decision and consider the potential damage it had in the long term. But James was brave, and James was reckless.

"I really rather fancy Evans, you know."

Remus and Sirius let out a loud, unanimous groan. " _Prongs_." Sirius covered his face with his arms, clearly too embarrassed to say anything else.

"And we were having such a nice night too," said Remus, reaching over and patting James on the leg. "Good going, mate."

But James did not care about Sirius' embarrassment or Remus' disappointment. He just kept his eyes trained on Lily's face, watching as the colour returned - not just from the alcohol - and her eyebrows set into a deep frown.

"I really want to go on a walk," Marlene said abruptly, shoving Sirius from her lap and into James. This broke his gaze from Lily, and when he looked back, she was being pulled to her feet by her friends.

"A walk sounds simply splendid, Mar, great idea," Ambria agreed, looping her arm through Lily's. Although Lily did not respond, both of her friends threw irritated looks over their shoulders as they lead her away.

"You're going to regret that in the morning," said Sirius, shaking his head. He scooted to James' side and slung his arm over his shoulder. "You are a bit of a prat sometimes."

James shrugged, and ran a hand through his hair. If regret was going to sink in, it hadn't started to do so yet. "Nah," he said. "Nah, I don't think so."

Both Remus and Sirius shared a look as Remus pressed the bottle to his lips. He swallowed and let out a sigh. "Oh James, what are we going to do with you?"

(7th July 1976)

"Honestly, I'm fine."

Lily was fine indeed. She sat on a cobbled wall with Marlene and Ambria either side of her, their legs dangling down over the pebbled sand. It was nice of her friends to lead her away, but in all honesty, Lily felt fine. A little disappointed that she had been proven right, but still fine.

Marlene huffed, wobbling a bit. "He is a prat, you know."

"Oh, I know."

"And he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," Ambria added with a thoughtful nod.

"I know."

There was a small silence. Lily let out a soft sigh, and looked out onto the sea. It would have been well into the early hours of the morning by now, but she was not yet tired. Her friends, on the other hand, were definitely in need of being tucked into bed.

"It is kind of cute, though," Marlene said quietly, giving Lily an innocent side look. "He's certainly persistent."

Ambria let out an offended gasp. " _No,_ Marlene! Lily has made her intentions quite clear and it's simply… utterly… completely disrespectful of him!" Drunkenly, Ambria reached out and grabbed Lily's hand clumsily. "I'm completely on your side. He is a prat. _Right_ , Marlene?"

Upon Ambria's warning look, Marlene nodded solemnly. "Right. A complete git."

Lily let out a soft laugh and squeezed her friend's hand. "Thank you," she said, looking between them. "Both of you. But there's nothing to worry about. There have been no new revelations here tonight. We all know that Potter was going to crack at some point, and I think the firewhiskey just pushed him over the edge."

Evidently too tired and too intoxicated to process her words, both Marlene and Ambria simply nodded. Ambria let out a large yawn, causing Marlene to following suit. Lily just smiled, and hopped down from the wall.

"Come on you two, I think it's time for bed."


End file.
